I came across an interesting fact in Seth Godwin’s book, Poke The Box. In the Pike Place Market in Seattle, you can still find the first Starbucks. But, apparently if you were to visit there you might be surprised that it does not really match your neighborhood Starbucks. It’s different: different logo, different lay out, very different feel.
In fact, the original Starbucks didn’t even sell coffee, it sold coffee beans. Starbucks started off with an idea to sell coffee beans. It was an interesting idea, it was just the wrong idea. One of the founders, Jerry Baldwin, made a mistake. And left to Baldwin’s “vision” Starbucks would have most certainly failed, or at best remained a neighborhood shop. It took one of Baldwin’s associates, Howard Schultz, a fateful trip to Italy, and a new found love for espresso to make Starbuck, Starbucks.
The point is, the guys did something, they did one thing. It was the wrong thing, but they did something anyway. Their wrong idea was a step in their success. If they had done nothing, there would be no Starbucks. They did the wrong thing on the road to incredible success.
Same for our organizations and parishes, especially when it comes to the New Evangelization. Do something, do anything, copy off anybody. When you discover it’s the wrong thing, change it and try again. Ultimately success it’s about being right, it’s about action.
